The Daily Audio Bible

The people dedicate Jerusalem's wall to God

²⁷ This is what happened when we dedicated the wall of Jerusalem to God. The people told the Levites to come to Jerusalem from the places where they lived. They wanted the Levites to help them to praise God with joy. The Levites would sing songs to thank God. They would make music with cymbals, harps and lyres.^[a]

²⁸ The temple singers came together from places near Jerusalem. They came from villages round Netophah, ²⁹ and from Beth Gilgal, Geba and Azmaveth. The singers had built these villages so that they could live near to Jerusalem. ³⁰ The priests and the Levites made themselves clean to serve God. Then they made the people clean, as well as the city's gates and its wall.^[b]

³¹ I took the leaders of Judah to go and stand on top of the wall. I chose two large groups of singers to thank God with songs. I told the first group to walk along the wall to the south, in the direction of the Dung Gate.

³² Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed this group of singers. ³³ Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah also followed them. ³⁵ Some priests with trumpets went with them. They included Jonathan's son, Zechariah. He was a descendant of Asaph, through Shemaiah, Mattaniah, Micaiah and Zaccur, Asaph's son. ³⁶ These other people helped Zechariah: Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani. They all had musical instruments, as King David had told them. Ezra, the teacher of God's Law, led this group of people. ³⁷ When they arrived at the Fountain Gate they all went up the steps of the City of David. While they went up the steps, they passed King David's palace. Then they continued along the wall to the Water Gate, on the east side of the city.

³⁸ The second group of singers went in the opposite direction. I followed them along the top of the wall, with half of the people. We went past the Tower of the Ovens and we continued to the Broad Wall. ³⁹ Then we went over the Gate of Ephraim and over the Jeshanah Gate. We went along to the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred and the Sheep Gate. We stopped at the Gate of the Guards.

⁴⁰ Then the two groups of singers went to stand in the yard of God's temple. I went with them, together with half of the officers. ⁴¹ The priests who had trumpets were there: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah. ⁴² Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam and Ezer followed them. Jezrahiah led the groups of singers, so that they sang loudly.

⁴³ On that day, the people offered many sacrifices to God. They were full of joy because God had caused them to be very happy. Men, women and children were all shouting with joy. Far away from the city, people could hear the noise!

⁴⁴ On the same day, we chose men to take care of the rooms where they stored the people's gifts. Those gifts to God were the first fruits from the harvest and the tithes. They had to bring these gifts from the fields near each city. They read this in the law. They were gifts for the Levites and the priests, as God's Law commanded. The people of Judah were happy to help the priests and Levites who served God.

⁴⁵ The priests and the Levites did the work that God had given them to make the people clean. The temple singers and guards also served God in the way that King David and his son Solomon had commanded. ⁴⁶ Long ago, at the time when King David and Asaph were alive, there had been people to lead the singers. They sang songs to praise God and to thank him. ⁴⁷ In the time of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all the Israelites shared their food with the singers and the guards. Every day they kept separate the part that was for the Levites. The Levites also kept separate the part that was for the priests.

Nehemiah tells people to obey God's Law

13 On that day, we read the book of Moses aloud to the people. One of the laws said that no descendant of Ammon or Moab should ever join with God's people when they met together. ² This was because they had not given the Israelites food and water. Instead, they had paid Balaam to curse the Israelites. But God did not agree to curse them. He blessed them instead.^[c]

³ When the Israelite people heard this law, they sent away all the people who had foreign ancestors.

⁴ Before this happened, I had given Eliashib the priest authority over the temple rooms where they stored special things. Eliashib was a friend of Tobiah.^{[d] 5} Eliashib let Tobiah use one of these rooms in the temple. It was a large room where they had stored the grain offerings, the incense and the special plates and tools that they used in the temple. They also stored the tithes of grain, wine and olive oil in that room. These gifts were for the Levites, the temple singers and guards, and also for the priests.

⁶ But when this happened, I was not in Jerusalem. In the 32nd year that King Artaxerxes ruled in Babylon, I had returned to visit him. After I had been there for some time, I asked the king to let me return to Jerusalem. ⁷ When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I heard about the evil thing that Eliashib had done. He had given Tobiah a large room in the yards of God's temple.^{[e] 8} I was very angry, so I threw all Tobiah's things out of the room. ⁹ I gave a command that they must make the rooms clean again. Then I put back the special plates and tools that they used in the temple. I also put back the grain offerings and the incense.

¹⁰ I also discovered that there was no food that should have been there for the Levites. As a result, the Levites and the singers had returned to work in their fields. They were not doing their work in God's temple. ¹¹ I warned the officers. I told them, ‘You have stopped taking care of God's temple!’ Then I told the Levites and the other workers to return to their jobs in the temple.

¹² After that, all the people in Judah brought their tithes of grain and wine and olive oil to store in the temple rooms. ¹³ I gave Shelemiah the priest, Zadok, the student of God's Law, and Pedaiah, a Levite, authority to take care of the rooms. Hanan, son of Zaccur and Mattaniah's grandson, helped them. People knew that these men were faithful workers. They had authority to give out the offerings to the other workers who served God.

¹⁴ Please remember what I have done, my God. I have been faithful to take care of the temple of my God, so that people can worship you there.

¹⁵ In those days, I saw people in Judah who were working on Sabbath days.^[f] They were making wine. They were bringing their grain from the fields. They were making their donkeys carry the grain, as well as wine, grapes, figs and other things. They were bringing all those things into Jerusalem when it was a Sabbath day. I warned them that they must not sell things on any Sabbath day.

¹⁶ People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem sold fish and other things when it was a Sabbath day. They even brought those things into Jerusalem and sold them to the people of Judah. ¹⁷ I was angry with the leaders of Judah. I said to them, ‘You are doing an evil thing. You are not making the Sabbath a special day. ¹⁸ Your ancestors did the same thing. That is why God punished them and he brought trouble on this city. Now you will make God even more angry with us, Israel's people. You are insulting God's Sabbath day.’

¹⁹ So I gave a command to the guards at the city's gates. I told them, ‘You must close the gates in the evening before each Sabbath day begins. Do not open the gates again until the Sabbath day has finished.’ I told some of my own men to stand at the gates. They would watch carefully so that no traders would bring things into Jerusalem on any Sabbath day.

²⁰ A few times, some traders stayed outside Jerusalem all night, with the things that they wanted to sell. ²¹ I warned them, ‘Do not stay beside the city's wall all night. If you do this again, I will take hold of you.’ After I said that, they did not come again to Jerusalem on a Sabbath day. ²² Then I told the Levites that they must make themselves ready to serve God. I told them to go and stand at the gates as guards. They must keep the Sabbath day as a special day for God.

My God, please remember this good thing that I have done. Because of your faithful love, please be kind to me.

²³ Also at that time, I discovered that men from Judah had married foreign women.^[g] They were women who came from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, or a language of the other foreign nations. They did not know how to speak the language of Judah.

²⁵ I was angry with them. I asked God to curse them. I hit some of the men. I pulled out the hair of some of them. I told them to make a promise in God's name. I said to them, ‘You must not let your daughters marry the sons of those foreign people. You must not let their daughters marry your sons. You yourselves must not marry foreign women either. ²⁶ Solomon, king of Israel, did a bad thing when he married foreign women. There was no other king as great as him in any other nation. God loved him. God chose him to be king over all Israel. But Solomon's foreign wives caused him to do bad things, even though he was so great.

²⁷ We can never agree to all the evil things that you have done. If we all married foreign women, we would not be faithful to our God.’

²⁸ Joiada was the son of Eliashib, the leader of the priests. One of Joiada's sons had married a daughter of Sanballat, who came from Horon. I sent Joiada's son away from Jerusalem.

²⁹ My God, remember what these people have done. They have not been faithful to you as your priests. They have spoiled the covenant that you made with the priests and the other descendants of Levi.

³⁰ After that, I made the priests and the Levites clean to serve God. I made them become separate from any foreign thing. I told each of them which job they should do. ³¹ I also made sure that people brought wood to the temple for sacrifices on the altar. I made them bring the first crops and fruits from their fields for the offerings.

My God, please remember to bless me.

11 Copy my example, in the same way that I copy Christ's example.

Christian meetings

² I praise you, because you remember me and everything that I taught you. You continue to obey the message that I gave to you. ³ This is something that I want you to know: Christ has authority over every man, as his head. Also, the head of a woman is her husband. And the head of Christ is God.

⁴ So, when you meet together to worship God, remember this. When a man prays to God, or he speaks a message from God, he should not cover his head. If he does that, he does not respect the one who is his head. ⁵ But when a woman prays or she speaks a message from God, she should cover her head. If she does not cover her head, she does not respect the one who is her head. It would be as bad as if she cut off all her hair. ⁶ If a woman refuses to cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But, if a woman has no hair, or she has very short hair, she becomes very ashamed. So it is better that she should cover her head in your meetings.

⁷ Men show what God is like and they show how great God is. So a man should not cover his head in your meetings. But a woman shows how great men are. ⁸ When God made people, he did not use part of the woman to make a man. God made the man first. Then he made the woman from part of the man.^{[a] 9} Neither did God make the man to help the woman. No, God made the woman to help the man. ¹⁰ That is why a woman should cover her head. It shows that she has authority on her head. That makes the angels happy.

¹¹ But remember this: we all belong to the Lord. Men and women need to help one another. They can not remain separate. ¹² It is true that God used part of the man to make the first woman. But it is also true that women give birth to men. Remember that all things come from God himself.

¹³ Think about this: If a woman prays to God but she has not covered her head, is that proper? ¹⁴ If a man has long hair, that should make him ashamed. That is clear. ¹⁵ But if a woman has long hair, she can be proud of it. God gave beautiful hair to women to cover their heads. ¹⁶ Some people may want to argue about this. But I have told you what we do. And all of God's people in the different churches do the same thing.

David wrote this song.

God, please help me